Experiment M5
by Tollivandi Silverwing
Summary: A partner story to Karin Starsen's Project Machina Fuse. The experiments are over. Metal, a nine year old girl, has been one of the test subjects. Where can she go?
1. Prologue

_Tolly: First off, let me just say that I am not, I repeat, NOT, copying KarinStarsen. We came up with this idea together. And if there are any errors, it's due to the fact that we haven't talked about it recently.  
p.s. each paragraph is a separate entry._

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(Records recovered from lab)

Project Machina Fuse, Experiment M5

The subject, nicknamed "Metal" by the crew, is doing well. After attaching the leg pieces this morning, she awoke from the anesthetics and examined the iron coating on her legs, then got up and tested them. She seemed fine, although she panicked and had to be sedated when she realized they would not come off.

Since the last entry, Metal has gained chest, shoulder and forearm coverings. We are pleased to report that the specially treated iron is growing with her, and we hope it will continue, as she has a long time before she is fully grown. Soon, we will start on the more complicated fusing methods.

Metal has awakened from her latest operation and is testing her new elbow joints. It seems she is growing stronger, as she has been flexing her arms for the past hour.

She no longer cries in her sleep.

The fusing of her hand plates took up most of the day, due mainly to the fact that it was a very delicate process, and partly because she woke up halfway through. We must give her a larger dose of anesthetics next time.

I'm wondering if we should begin running extra psychological tests. In her cell today, she discovered how to use her claws, which extend from her hand plate and fasten around her fingers. She flexed them a few times, retracted them and sat down on her bed. She took up one of her dolls and stroked its hair gently. Then, extending her claws, she ripped the doll's head off.

Her feet have been successfully fused. An iron covering with spikes protruding from the soles make up this part. The spikes can, at will, slide together to form a single blade. She was unsteady on her feet for a while, but now can walk as well as, perhaps better than, she could before.

We made a startling discovery today. We had been rather concerned these past few days, because Metal's hair has been falling out. We ran some tests but could not figure out what was wrong. Today, Metal was crouching in a corner of her cell, her back to the camera, so we could not see what she was up to. One of her caregivers went in to check on her, whereupon she grabbed his hand with one of her own and, with the other, cut off his gold ring with one of her claws, and swallowed it. We later found out that she had dismantled a bit of machinery (picked up, apparently, from the operating room) and had been eating the pieces of copper wire. After running a quick test, we found that her hair was growing back and was now made of the finest gold and copper wire. We will be adding copper and gold to her regular diet in hopes of continuing this process.

Metal has been taking weekly lessons from a tutor lately. She looks forward to these lessons and can often be heard chatting to her caregivers about them. She will not, however, speak to any of the scientists.

It has been three years and we are now ready to install the head piece. This will consist of an iron plate fused to her skull, with five spikes in a row. This process may take a while.

Something strange has happened. Metal woke up after the head piece operation and complained of a mild headache, which was expected. Suddenly, she became tense, claws half extended, eyes wide. Slowly, her head spikes grew longer until they extended about a foot above her head. We did not add this feature. She appeared to be listening for something. She started shrieking "Kiki! Kiki!" at the top of her lungs, which, as her chest had been altered for the chest plate, was quite loud. She was immediately sedated. How she knew about experiment K3's release, we do not know.

One of the scientists would like to test whether or not Metal can absorb elements other than gold and copper. I'm surprised we hadn't thought of this sooner.

We have tested Metal's reaction to different elements, and have found a few things worth noting. She seems not to care about most elements, although silver attracted her. We found that when she eats silver, her eyesight is better. It seems that this experiment is getting to be quite costly, although the boss assures us that it will pay off if she is completely successful.

More tests with elements. Magnetic elements, such as iron, are only mildly interesting to her, whereas magnets themselves she tends to avoid. This aversion to magnets may have been started when one became stuck to her hand and she could not remove it due to the iron covering on her body. Magnets are a weakness to Metal. We are hoping that experiment L4 will be able to control her with it, for then we would be able to use this perfect fighting machine properly.

Metal is finally ready for presentation. We have added the finishing touches, such as an iron skirt. She has done excellent in the hand-to-hand combats we've placed her in against full machina. She does well on her own, but can be controlled by L4 if needed. Metal is indeed a success. We present her to the boss tonight.

(end of records)

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_Tolly: And that's all for the first chapter. Before you read chapter 2, however, you may want to read KarinStarsen's latest installment to Project Machina Fuse: FAILED. It fills in the gap between chapters one and two, otherwise you'll be all "Wait, what? How did…?" Got it? _


	2. Escaped

_Tolly: And now the real story begins. You are all caught up with Karin Starsen's part, right?_

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Metal stood on the hill, looking back at the remains of the lab. She and her sisters had been held prisoner there. Together with her sister Lily, also called experiment L4, she had demolished it, and now, at last, they were free.

"Well," said Lily. "What now?"

Metal shrugged, not able to tear her eyes away from the ruins. All the scientists, all the caregivers, even her tutor. They were all dead. She might have cried, if she was an ordinary child. But machina don't cry.

Lily kept talking. "There's a village about a day's walk from here. If you're up to it, we could start heading there now. Metal? Metal, look at me."

Metal nodded, still looking at the lab. Suddenly, she felt a magnetic force pulling at her, forcing her to turn away. She scowled at Lily, who smiled weakly.

"Sorry, but you might have stood there all day."

"I don't care." said Metal. "I don't like it."

"I promise not to do it too much. Only when I absolutely have to. Do you forgive me?"

"I guess." Metal tried to stay mad, but she couldn't, especially when Lily started tickling her.

"Okay," said Lily. "Let's go."

As they walked, Metal looked at what their godfather had done to Lily. There weren't a lot of exterior alterations. Shining platinum strips formed intricate designs on her hands, while a platinum tiara sat fixed on her head. But Metal knew they had done more than that. Lily had been designed to control machina through magnetism, ice and water. The changes they had made to her were as extreme as what they had done to Metal and Kiki, but in a different way.

Metal could remember a time before the experiments, although, not all her memories were very clear. One memory that had stuck with her was her father's wedding. She had been five, Lily was ten and Kiki was twelve. Their father was getting married to Kiki's mother. She remembered standing next to Kiki and Lily, all of them wearing white dresses, and watching the wedding ceremony. Kiki's mother had been commenting on her three lovely daughters, and Metal's father was smiling. She could almost remember how the cake had tasted. But such happy times were only memories now. Metal looked down at her iron-coated body. _Just memories_, she thought.

Lily saw Metal's face and stopped walking. She took Metal's hand in her own. "It'll be alright." she said softly. "We're free now. And we're together."

Metal looked at their two half-human, half-machina hands, and back up at Lily. "You're right. Let's keep going."

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"How much longer?" Metal whined. "I'm starving!"

"Metal," sighed Lily. "We just ate. How can you be starving?" The two had found some edible plants a little while ago, but they were still miles away from the town.

"Not for that…"

"Oh, right." Lily suddenly remembered Metal's thing for gold, silver and copper. "Well, it'll have to wait."

"I want some now!" Metal stomped her iron-clad foot defiantly, just like a normal nine year old would.

"Maybe when we get to town. Now come on, we've still got a lot of ground to cover."

"No!" Metal abruptly sat down and crossed her arms.

Lily groaned and tried to lift her up. Not only did Metal have the added weight of iron, but she stubbornly dug her claws into the ground. Lily gave up that idea and held out her hands. "I'm really sorry, but if you're going to be difficult, I have to."

Metal cried out as the magnetism took hold. Still fighting, she tried to take hold with her feet as well. But it was no use. The scene was comical in a way: Lily walking on, and Metal being dragged, leaving long furrows in the earth.

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_Tolly: There is definitely more coming. Please review!_


	3. Questions

_Tolly: watch for connections with Karin's story! I don't know how many there'll be, but there are a few. And yes, we'll be merging soon._

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Lily had stopped walking and was swaying woozily, one hand on her forehead. Metal was worried and asked what was wrong.

"There's some sort of magnetic field, coming from somewhere above us." said Lily.

"How come I can't feel it then?" Metal asked tensely.

"It's not the kind of magnet that I use on you. It's--" Lily was interrupted as Metal shouted.

"Ship!" Metal crouched, claws and head spikes fully extended, gazing with wide eyes at the airship passing over their heads. She quickly saw where it was headed. "It's going back towards the lab." she said, half-whispering.

Lily stared at her little sister in awe. Metal was so young, and yet she was behaving like a seasoned warrior, ready for any attack.

Metal noticed that Lily was watching her and slowly retracted her weapons. "Guess they'll get a bit of a surprise, huh?"

Lily nodded, recovering from her astonishment quickly. She was not designed to be shocked easily. "Come on," she said, taking Metal's hand. "It's not much farther to the town."

"Um, Lily?" asked Metal after a pause. "When we get to the town, people are gonna look at us funny. Maybe we shouldn't go."

"Don't worry. We'll only stay long enough to get some supplies and then we'll be on our way."

"Yeah, but, um…"

"But what, Metal?" Lily stopped to look at her little sister, who was fidgeting and looking at the ground.

"Maybe we should get some clothes. I know we don't really need them, but you look like a princess, with a crown, and you're dressed in white. And I look like, like…I look weird, okay? And maybe, if we had something to cover up the machine parts, we'd fit in more, you know?"

"There are plenty of strangely dressed people around here," said Lily. "And as I said, we won't stay long. Besides, where would we get them?"

Metal shrugged and looked up at her sister with strange silver eyes. "Do you think I look weird?"

Lily thought for a second. "For a human, yes. For my sister, of course not. Now that we're both machina-fused, why would we look weird to each other?"

"So, if we ever find Kiki, she won't think we're weird-looking?"

"Do you know what they did to Kiki?" Lily asked quietly.

Metal shook her head.

"She has wings, and her spine has been fused with a machina tail, capable of firing lasers. Her wings go way above her head, and her tail is ten feet long. She has fangs, too. Do you think she'll worry about how strange we look?"

"No." said Metal. They were quiet for a moment, walking. Metal spoke again. "Why did he do this to us?"

"Our godfather was deranged. His actions and decisions cannot be explained." Lily answered shortly. "Now he's dead, and he can't hurt anyone anymore."

Metal nodded, apparently satisfied with this answer. The two walked on. Metal once more broke the silence. "Who do you think was in that airship?" she asked, glancing backwards.

Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had forgotten how annoying little sisters were. "I don't know."

Metal didn't hear the irritated tone of Lily's voice. She looked back again. "Because, whoever they are, I think they're following us."

"What?" Lily turned and looked down the hill they had just gone up, and down the road. Sure enough, there were four figures coming from the direction of the lab. She was suddenly aware of how conspicuous the spotless machina parts of her and her sister were. "Get down!" she hissed.

Metal obeyed, but still peered down, her head spikes slowly extending.

"Metal! Put your spikes down!"

"Lily," Metal whispered back. "I think it's Kiki."

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_Tolly: Okay, Karen. Your turn. Hehe, it's chapter 13 for you…_

_anyway, to MY readers (if they exist): review, s'il vous plait._


	4. Captured

_Tolly: Sacy cu cunno, Ryhhyr! Oui tet lydlr sa uvv-kiynt fedr dryd bancuh vummufehk dras, pid hajandramacc, rasa ec so lrybdan vuin._

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"They're all staring at us," Metal said. The group was making their way through the town, and the experiments were obviously attracting attention. Yuna, meanwhile, was double-checking the amount of gil they had left.

"We're missing five silver and three gold pieces!" she exclaimed. "Rikku…"

"It wasn't me, honest!" protested Rikku.

Lily glared at her little sister and spoke to her in Al Bhed. "E druikrd E dumt oui, hu cdaymehk. _I thought I told you, no stealing._"

"Pid E's rihkno!" said Metal. "_But I'm hungry!_"

"Metal stole the gil?" asked a confused Rikku. "And she…ate it?"

Lily blushed. She had momentarily forgotten that Rikku was Al Bhed, since nobody at the lab was. "Metal's body can process certain elements, like gold for instance, and recycle them." She explained.

"You sound like a scientist," Metal pouted. "And they hadn't given me anything to eat today or yesterday."

"What are the elements recycled as?" asked Kiki, glancing at her stepsister's red-blond hair and thinking she already knew.

"My hair is the finest gold and copper wire and silver improves my eyesight," Metal recited. She looked up at the others suspiciously. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Listen, we need all the gil we can get," said Paine, as gently as it was possible for her to get. "And wire that thin is sure to fetch a price."

Metal's silvery eyes grew wide as she realized their intentions. She gripped her waist length hair tightly. "No! No, no, no!"

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A little while later, the experiments, the Gullwings, and Koaso continued on through the village, their purse considerably heavier. Metal stomped angrily behind. Her hair had been shorn to chin-length and sold to a merchant. Part of her understood why it had been done, but the part of her that was still a normal child was pouting.

She lagged farther and farther behind, and presently, she heard footsteps behind her. When she looked back, she saw a man smiling at her.

"Hello," said the man.

Metal narrowed her eyes. Back at the lab, a stranger usually meant a new scientist who came up with new ways to hurt her. "Who are you?"

"My name is Marru. What's yours?" He didn't seem like a scientist.

"I'm Metal," she said, relaxing a bit.

"It's nice to meet you, Metal," said Marru. "I saw what your friends did to your beautiful hair. That wasn't very nice of them, was it?"

Metal shook her head. "But I did steal the gil…"

"It wasn't your fault. You were hungry, after all."

Metal froze, instantly on her guard again. How did he know about her eating habits? Had he been spying on them? She looked around for her sisters and friends, but Marru must have led her somewhere, because they were nowhere to be found.

Marru must have seen her tense up, for suddenly he reached out and stuck something to Metal's back. She felt magnetism spread through her metal parts, rendering her completely immobile. She started screaming. "Lily! Kiki! Ramb sa! _Help me!_"

Marru gagged her before she could yell more, threw her over his shoulder, and started running. He was obviously much stronger than he looked.

When Metal saw the airship he was taking her to, she tried to scream through her gag and struggled vainly against the magnets restraining her.

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"I'm surprised that sphere survived our demolition," said Lily. "I thought we were pretty thorough. I mean, we made sure everything, and everyone, in that lab was destroyed."

Koaso coughed uncomfortably.

"Oh…sorry, I forgot."

"It's probably better that you forget I was his son than if you held it against me." said Koaso.

"I guess…" said Lily. She sensed Metal falling further behind. "Metal, keep up"

There was no response.

"Metal?" Lily glanced behind, but couldn't see her little sister anywhere. "Kiki! Metal's gone!"

Just then, Metal's cry for help came from the next street over. Kiki launched herself into the air and flew towards the sound, while the others followed on foot. Marru's airship rose up as well, and Kiki aimed her tail at it, but it zoomed off before she could get a clear shot.

"NO!" she cried, flying after it. "Metal!"

It was too fast. Metal was gone.

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_Tolly: …dun dun dun!_


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